# Teacher suspended for pulling a Janet Jackson **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 17, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837 "2004-03-17T13:35:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/21 "2004-03-17T18:45:31Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > “Look, you shouldnt act recklessly if this is the profession you`ve chosen.” “And if you do, the scrutiny will be moreso than if you were some average Joe walking around. Learn this, understand this, accept this.” This is the basic tenet on which I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree. I think that, on her own time, she should be able to act just like anyone else, regardless of her chosen profession. Then again, I don’t think anyone should be held accountable as role models for their kids _except their parents._ Not actors, not pop stars, not teachers, not bus drivers. Parents. And apart from the fact that there were teachers involved in this incident and the one involving the underage drinking, I don’t see how you can relate the two. They’re so far apart in circumstance that any correlation between them is tenuous at best. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/22 "2004-03-17T18:49:24Z")
> [@](#): > > I started a thread a while back about a teacher who threw a drinking party for her underage students. She ended up resigning over the issue, after the school suspended her. These two incidents aren’t even REMOTELY comparable. One involves a woman who drinks a bit too much on her own time. The incident affects nobody at all. It’s stupid, that’s all. And not even very stupid. Your thread is about a woman who did something that was definitely illegal (serving alcohol to minors) and potentially dangerous. If someone hadn’t been an ass and decided this was an issue, I don’t think anyone would know. And yes, I do think that matters. This notion that people’s actions in private somehow effect what they do on the job in a totally different situation is ludicrous to me. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/23 "2004-03-17T19:07:52Z")
Oh dear. Could anyone to whom I’ve sent incriminating pics please delete them now? Thanks. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/24 "2004-03-17T19:09:52Z")
> [@Master Wang-Ka](#): > > Teachers are expected to be superhuman, superintelligent, supercompetent, and pretty much utterly beyond reproach Guilty as charged! 😃 Society will never see you when you are doing something righteous. Only when you step in it are the cameras on and the mikes live. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/25 "2004-03-17T19:11:27Z")
As far as the other thread goes, I compare the two only in the sense that the two situations showed a lack of common sense and a display of poor judgement. Characteristics that I would want in a teacher. **Marley** , if you`ll recall in the other thread, there were a plethora of posters who defended the teacher. Some to the extent that she did absolutely nothing wrong. ## **Dante** , your world is not the world we live in. People judge. Kids look up to people other than their parents. It would be nice if we lived in your world where all parents were perfect and all parents were role models. We don`t. Peoples actions in private dont effect their job per say. Their actions in private effect how other people view these persons. It`s the world we live in. Some of these people, who hold certain positions in society, can`t have other people looking down at them in a negative light. Teachers, I assert, are one of those positions. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/26 "2004-03-17T19:14:35Z")
Characteristics that I _would **n`t** _ want in a teacher. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/27 "2004-03-17T19:26:07Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > **Dante** , your world is not the world we live in. People judge. Kids look up to people other than their parents. It would be nice if we lived in your world where all parents were perfect and all parents were role models. We don`t. I don’t follow you. The closest role model a child has is his/her parent. If pictures of a mom flashing her jubblies get exposure…should her kids be taken away? Should she have to pay some sort of fine? ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/28 "2004-03-17T19:39:27Z")
> [@beagledave](#): > > I don’t follow you. The closest role model a child has is his/her parent. If pictures of a mom flashing her jubblies get exposure…should her kids be taken away? Should she have to pay some sort of fine? Holy snickers, I hope not. See my first post in this thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/29 "2004-03-17T19:49:33Z")
She should just blame it on a wardrobe malfunction. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/30 "2004-03-17T20:06:19Z")
So she was caught… doing something that is legal. She wasn’t even harming kids, as there was (I’m assuming) nobody under 18 there (as if a boob would scar a child beyond modern psychological help). ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/31 "2004-03-17T20:24:58Z")
> [@clayton\_e](#): > > So she was caught… doing something that is legal. > > She wasn’t even harming kids, as there was (I’m assuming) nobody under 18 there (as if a boob would scar a child beyond modern psychological help). Legalities and harming of children aren`t even part of this debate. Just because something is legal doesn`t mean you should do it. I don`t think adultery is illegal. **beagledave** , not every child has their parents as role models. Should, but don`t. I already stated what should happen to the teacher, short suspension and an apology letter, at worst. However, after re-reading the story, I think she`s been through enough. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/32 "2004-03-17T20:25:56Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > Allow me to dissent. > > Is it too much to ask that our role-models act like, say, Role Models? Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Therefore, you must be 100% in favor of Child Welfare “experts” going out without cause or accusation and meddling in all parents’ lives, since the most important role models must be held to the highest standards. Welcome to the new Apparat, Comrade. Individual rights and all privacy must be obliterated, for the sake of the children. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/33 "2004-03-17T21:04:50Z")
> [@misstee](#): > > Wow, all I have to say is that I can never be a teacher – there are far to many pictures of my boobs out there. > > I have partied it up with both of my kids kindergarten teahcers. It doesn’t bother me that they drink and have a good time. They are both great teachers. Now I’m really hoping that you’ll make it to FloriDope. Red-haired, boobs that aren’t shy, likes to party. You’ll fit in just fine around here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/34 "2004-03-17T21:42:34Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > I also don`t think that she should be fired for this, maybe a short suspension and a public apology at worst. Public Apology? Why?? She was at a private party. Not on a public street. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/35 "2004-03-17T22:15:34Z")
Where does one draw the line? She was at an adult party and had a few too many to drink. What if she were a school bus driver? A Girl Scout leader? A church organist? An attorney? An executive secretary? A hotel maid? A fast food worker? A toll booth collector? When does the job start and stop? As long as she is doing nothing illegal, what she does off the clock is NO ONE’s business. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/36 "2004-03-17T22:40:42Z")
Was there a morals clause in her contract? I don’t know what you can get away with them, but there are jobs that restrict legal behaviour such as law enforcement. Personally, I think that what she did was not appropriate as well as stupid because she was a teacher. I’m sure that if she remains a teacher that she will be much more careful about flashing her breasts for photos while drunk. ---
**Author:** ![hybrid\_dogfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@hybrid\_dogfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hybrid_dogfish)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/37 "2004-03-17T22:41:23Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > Legalities and harming of children aren`t even part of this debate. Just because something is legal doesn`t mean you should do it. > I don`t think adultery is illegal. By that logic if a teacher commits adultery you would favour them being punished at work? What about teachers who, say, smoke? Eat fast food? Use bad language? Should they face sanctions if news of what they did in a private party reaches the board of governors? What if they slept around in college? that would be a bad example to set the kids, so what if it were to get out? Exactly how much of teacher’s lives do you want to own for the pittance they are paid? [slight hijack] I’m not even gonna bother mentioning the fact that it is only a pair of breasts, and this time without the connotations of sexual violence that accompanied the nipplegate thing, or whatever you wanna call it, since it seems that across wide swathes of the US breasts are seen as the root of all evil. Hell, kids are breastfed up till the age of two, can see films with breasts from the age of 17, but if they see them at any time in the intervening 15 year window they will be irrevocably damaged? [/slight hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/38 "2004-03-17T22:43:28Z")
I should add that I don’t think that should be fired unless immoral outside work behaviour is mentioned in her contract. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/39 "2004-03-18T00:30:59Z")
One time a home video of my nephew’s kindergarten teacher surfaced, in which the teacher was brushing his teeth. He squoze the tube from the MIDDLE, and when he was done he _didn’t floss_. The school board took him out back and beat him to death with a shovel. He was asking for it. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837/40 "2004-03-18T00:50:01Z")
I have offended you before and have no wish to do it again. But I would like to respectfully ask what you consider immoral about a woman at a private party for adults displaying her breasts. Are breasts immoral? Is displaying them immoral? Uncommon Sense: Same question. I am willing to bet that if the person who took the pictures and distributed them can be identified, he or she will be paying the teacher a good bit of money. Not to mention the school district. IMHO [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-suspended-for-pulling-a-janet-jackson/234837.md?page=3)